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Sun, Nov 17, 2024 | Jumada al-Awwal 15, 1446 | DXB
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UAE: Over 3.2 million heads of livestock vaccinated against epidemic diseases
Abu Dhabi - The campaign aims to improve immunity among animals.
More than 3.2 million heads of livestock in Abu Dhabi have been vaccinated against three epidemic diseases during the vaccination programme to boost the animals’ immunity.
The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) said it completed the three phases of the 12th livestock vaccination campaign for 2020-2021 in which it administered the animals with 6.5 million doses.
The campaign targeted vaccinating different livestock species, including sheep and goats against Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), sheep, goats and cattle against foot and mouth disease (FMD) and goats against contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP).
The vaccination campaign aims to improve animal immunity, control and eradicate epidemic diseases, thus enhancing the biosecurity system in Abu Dhabi.
During the first phase of the campaign, a total of 3,172,094 animals were given the first dose of vaccination against FMD, PPR and CCPP. Meanwhile, 161,225 animals were tagged and vaccinated against PPR during the second phase.
More than 2 million animals, representing 63.7 percent of the first phase of the vaccination campaign, were vaccinated against the three diseases in Al Ain region. This included 1.15 million vaccinated against FMD, and 515,067 against CCPP, whereas 358,458 animals were tagged and vaccinated against PPR.
In Abu Dhabi region, a total of 665,089 animals representing 21 percent of vaccination campaign, were vaccinated against the three diseases. These included 372,516 animals vaccinated against FMD, 151,100 against CCPP and 141,473 tagged and vaccinated against PPR.
In addition, a total of 486,269 (15.3%) of vaccination campaign, were vaccinated in Al Dhafra, including 294,352 animals vaccinated against FMD, 112,539 against CCPP, and 79,324 tagged and vaccinated against PPR.
During the vaccination campaign, 3.7 million doses were administered to goats, 2.7 million doses to sheep and 72,534 doses to cows.
Rashid Al Rasas Al Mansouri, executive director of livestock sector at ADAFSA, said: “This campaign is carried out in three phases which concluded in May. The first phase includes the first dose of vaccination against FMD, CCPP and PPR; the second phase is limited to tagging and vaccinating of livestock against PPR; while the third phase included the second dose against the three diseases.”
Al Mansouri noted that ADAFSA’s vaccination campaigns aim at enhancing the biosecurity system, improving animal immunity, and preventing the proliferation of animal diseases.
“This campaign precedes seasons that witness the emergence and proliferation of the most common and dangerous diseases in animals,” he added.
The official noted that ADAFSA’s efforts target decreasing the need to use veterinary medicines, eradicating diseases in the long term, thereby developing the livestock sector, and sustaining the food security system.
He noted that ADAFSA was committed to providing the best-approved vaccines to enhance animal immunity.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com
File photo
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